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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy thanksgiving everyone! I hope you've all had a wonderful day with all of your loved ones and if you haven't, I hope you've had a wonderful day anyways. I'm fortunate enough to be spending my Thanksgiving day back home in Mayagüez with my mom, my boyfriend, my cats and a very close family friend. It took us two and a half hours from San Juan to Mayagüez but the roads were clear and that's actually kind of record time for such a long trip. I haven't been able to come home in months because of work and responsibilities, but these are the special occasions where family comes first and we must celebrate. My mom's been renovating the house and it looks fantastic! I'm so proud of her because she finally has her dream house (of course, she did it after her children moved out!).

If there's anything I really love about Puerto Rican holiday festivities, it's the food. We celebrate thanksgiving, but the menu might vary a bit. We do have out turkey, but instead of traditional american dishes like green bean casserole we trade them for traditional puertorrican yummies like rice with pigeon peas,and pasteles. In my house, my mom takes the cake for the best turkey ever. Bacon wrapped and stuffed with mofongo (a traditional plantain dish from the gods): juicy goodness! This was accompanied by steamed veggies, rice with pigeon peas, salad, and cake! Mom brought out all of her fancy platter collection and we actually sat down together at the table to eat. My cats were going nuts with the turkey fest and of course, I slipped them a few nibbles on the side.

Before

After

It's not a fashion post, but I do want to share how lovely my thanksgiving has been in hope that you've all had similar experiences. It's a time to come together and show our family some love. I'm kind of dreading tomorrow because of Black Friday. You all know I work at Forever 21 and I have a closing shift so I'll have to clean up the day's mess. Oh well, everyone has to work so onward march!

Well, I was told that Gareth Pugh x MAC was not coming to our Puerto Rico store. I was sold lies. I had already given up and accepted the fact that the only way I was going to get my hands on the collection was only via internet and wouldn't be able to see the products until then. OH BABY! My face was aglow when I walked past the MAC store this afternoon and yes, there in a corner all alone... Gareth Pugh x MAC. I'm pretty sure my squeals were heard all over the mall but I dashed across the hall and straight to the collection section! I had a mini splurge (for my budget) and I'm hoping supplies last until my next paycheck because I do want to get a few more elements from this collection before it ends (of couse, Black Friday is this week but then again, who here in this island knows who Gareth Pugh is?). Also, I'm DYING for Daphne Guinness' collabo with MAC as well (I'm probably more excited for this than I am for this collection) and it's coming out on December 26.

My friends, what a joy it was to swatch every single product from this collection. I was BLOWN AWAY. In the first post I made about this collection I got a few things messed up because of lack of information. I t old you guys about it with what I observed from pictures. Let's set the record straight. The collection consists of 1 powder, 1 blush, 2 pigments, 2 eyeshadows, 1 mascara, 2 eyeliners, 2 lipsticks, 2 lip glosses, a set of eyelashes, a kabuki brush, 3 nail varnishes and one makeup bag. The prices are a little bit higher than your usual MAC products, but when you pay for a limited edition like this one, you're paying for special packaging, product selection/creation and a designer name product with designer quality.

Let's start with the powder. So lovely! The packaging itself weighed about three pounds because everything in this collection is packaged in metal containers, not your usual MAC plastic fantastic. The powder was dewy in finish, it had a bit of highlight and was so soft and creamy. Lovely on the skin, especially pale skins. If there's a downside to this collection in regards to powder and blush, it would be that it's designed for people with really pale skin. But it wouldn't surprise me coming from a designer with a goth edge to his taste.

My little splurge was with the blush. It's called 'Strada'. Now, you get a lot less product than you do with your regular MAC blushes, but again, I paid for a limited edition product. This powder blush retails for $30 and your regular blush would be around twenty something. Well, I'm not disappointed. This blush is so pale to the simple eye. Just apply it and be ready to be amazed. It actually adjusts to your skin tone! It's the perfect balance between blush and natural looking contour.

The next time I go I really want to get me the "Guise" pigment. It's a pale silver with subtle sparkling. Extremely delicate depending on how it's applied. "Deceit" was lovely. It's also a bit browner than shown in pictures. Sadly, my MAC store didn't receive any eyeshadows so I couldn't test those out. I was really looking forward to swatch out "Ardent". I didn't swatch the eyeliners or the mascara. Now, the eyelashes were something else. Edgy, full and extreme. There were only two left in the store and I decided that maybe someone that would use them more could take advantage of them so I decided to pass.

Now, the lip glosses? Can you say "Opalescent pucker"? Oh yes. Don't let the pictures fool you. These glosses are amazing. Both are purple colors but they glisten and vary colors like crazy! I was so in love with "Outrage" and I almost got it, but my better sense got a hold of me and I put it down. I'm hoping I can get one when I get my next paycheck. I have to be honest. I was a bit less than impressed with the lipsticks. Like I said in my past post, the darkest lipstick, "Fervent" is very similar to "Cyber" from the permanent collection. "Cyber" is the perfect dupe (except for finish). I wouldn't spend more money on "Fervent" which is barely a tad more violet and has a creamier finish when "Cyber" is almost the same, cheaper and has a lovely satin finish. And I was let down with "Restrict" because it was yet another nude color that didn't work for me. Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely color, just not on me.

Also madly opalescent? Those nail varnishes! The girl that helped me today had on "Inert", which is the silvery opalescent tone. It was just as good on as it was from the tube! "Ascension" was beautiful but "Hyper" was really something else! Blue magic!

Finally, the makeup case. A bit expensive at $75. Like I said before, it looks a bit like a cd case and to be honest, my makeup bags always take a beating so I wouldn't spend that much money on a makeup bag when I can make one myself for waaaaayy less whenever I need to. All in all, this collection is beautiful, more wearable than it looks, very luxe and decadent. I really encourage you to go check it out and see/swatch/get it for yourself. Also, I'm in the search for a new moisturizer. I have quite severe dermatitis and it manifests itself very frequently on my face, so I've been reading reviews about MAC's Complete Comfort Cream Moisturizer and I got a sample today at the store. I just applied it when I washed my face and I'm about to let a tear or two go loose. I haven't felt my skin this soft in almost a year. It's really difficult for me to get my skin nicely moisturized because additional to the dermatitis, I have severely dry skin too. It's always chapped and dull regardless of the copious amounts fo moisturizing, exfoliating and care. I'll keep you guys posted on how this affects my skin. So far, I'm quite sold and I've only tested this once!

Anyways, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Pearlescent, light and clean. I'd chose these three adjectives to describe Chanel's s/s 2012 collection. What mind boggles me sometimes is the ingenuity and artistry with which Karl Lagerfeld is able to elaborate something completely different from the Chanel taste but still manage to unify it seamlessly into what we've all come to know and cherish from the major design house. How could an "under the sea" vibe be molded into structured tweed, casual, elegant suits? Well, that's part of the job requirements, I suppose but to do it as perfect as Lagerfeld does? How does a designer keep on doing it? By pushing his or her limits and I read that Lagerfeld did that by using fabrics and textiles that even he hadn't managed before. Bravo!

Of course, it is a given that there will be some very Chanel silhouettes, but that's something you look for in a very established and recognized label. That's the backbone of the house. With Chanel, we get structured tweed suits and dresses, but what Lagerfeld brings to the table are shorter cuts and more modernized silhouettes that don't stray from the classic but make them relevant, ready-to-wear pieces. Now, don't mistake the "under the sea" theme with mermaids. No. That's not what this collection was about. It was about the integration of soft, pastel colors, embroidery and touches to the look. If you must, it's as if the woman Coco Chanel wanted to portray had the choice of taking the finest underwater elements like pearls, muted color corals and textures into the mix. Strings of pearls clung on the models' waists, dotted all over their hair and faces (Chanel body modifications? Oh yes!), coral-like embroidered ruffles growing from the fabrics, metallic shimmer reminiscent of a watery glisten, and underwater creature allusive construction adorned every piece. There were even bathing suits in this collection! Think of an underwater Chanel fantasea~ (see what I did there?).

There were a few geometrical elements that might have surprised some people. Well, once you take a peek at Zaha Hadid's modern architectural structures, you might get to really mesh everything together and round up the inspiration circle that worked as Lagerfeld's muse for this collection. Everything from the clothes to the stage was clearly Hadid inspired. Clean, straight, and quite geometrical but still very fluid and almost in movement.

Everything from the girl's accessories to their styling was splashed up to the nines with fantastic underwater imagination. Their hair was styled with the wet look, their makeup simple but metallic and even their shoes... oh their shoes! Some models wore sandals and other little metallic booties. What really called my attention was the heel on those shoes: sea shells! But not your typical shells. No, not literal. And the same goes to their little clutches. Some were so artistically crafted, they were three-dimensional shells.

OK, I love this collection (obviously) but there were a few looks I didn't necessarily agree on. Some were either too literal or simply didn't seem to follow the cohesiveness of the collection in my opinion. They weren't that many, I'd say like two or three looks from this eighty-ish look collection... barely a squeeze. I'm specifically referring to a ruffled blouse in pink and salmon with leather shorts look. I'll post it below with some looks from the collection.

And quickly, may we just take a sec to talk about that runway stage? WOAH! Lagerfeld chose to present it at The Grand Palais in Paris, where he usually does. It's the perfect place to re-create any scenery possible. I mean, an underwater fantasy world, Plâce Vendome at night, a huge carousel (yeah, Karl did it before Marc)? Done! The models swiftly swayed through clusters of smooth white seashells and corals and the whole stage was surrounded by curvacious curtains that enclosed the setting in a white on white ambience. The clincher: Florence Welch in a Boticelli-esque "Birth of Venus" setting producing the most beautiful sounds in a beautiful Chanel gown. Definitely following the tradition of show-worthy shows that Chanel has become quite re-known for.

Check out below some of my favorite (and not so favorite looks) from this collection!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

So I know I owe you guys the Emilio Pucci Skitch-I-Y but I haven't gotten around to it. I haven't had time to buy the remaining materials and it's not payday until Friday so in the meantime, I'll move on with the next skitch process: Chanel s/s 2012. I'll give you guys a double whammy with Skitch-I-Ys as soon as I can, I promise. Here's the look I was inspired by for this edition's skitch. It was modeled by the lovely Melissa Tammerijn.

Here's my take on it:

Thank you all for being a part of this project. It's something I really love to do and keeps my already busy mind even busier. Hey, it's all good!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

OK. Now I just feel guilty. You guys can grill me all you want. I deserve it for posting this so late. I've been quite busy but that doesn't mean I've forgotten the blog. Oh no! It's become like a child of mine. I think it would be quite hard to forget it now. I've got so many ideas for this that now it's hard to ignore. Also, I've got set the Skitch-I-Y I want for this Emilio Pucci version of the Skitch process, but I haven't had any time or extra money to get the remaining materials so as soon as I can, I'll do it and post it. Anyways, done with my excuses... on to the review!

So, Emilio Pucci. The name's iconic reference is obvious: bright, kaleidoscopic 60's influenced prints. Prints so vibrant they might even get you dizzy in a fashion haze. For this s/s 2012 season, Peter Dundas decided to move the iconic Pucci detail into gypsy, free spirit girl vibe. But this look is definitely not stuck in the 60's. Dundas managed to make it look relevant and modern. To me, the girls who walked down the runway are the type of laid back spirit girls every woman wants to be once in a while. Like with Fendi, I'm not a huge Pucci fan (due to the prints in this case), but with collections like this I might have to change my opinion.

There was a lot of midriff showing going on, a lot of lace and sheer sexiness in the most appropriate places, but that doesn't mean it looks wrong. Au contraire, this is how sexy should be done. It wasn't overpowering and it was fitting for the inspiration. Little peasant tops, flowy skirts and vibrant prints added to all of this, but there were also quite a few tailored looks that to me, balanced the collection from becoming a gypsy festival. That was the modernizing element that could make any one of these looks appropriate for any occasion and for any type of woman. What I did love about some of these more polished tailored looks was that those details had a sort of menswear edge to them, thus taking the sexiness this collection already alluded to a whole other level. There weren't as many structured looks as we're accustomed to see from a Dundas show, but it was just enough for this collection. I'd say it's still a win/win situation.

In terms of accessories and styling, well I was more than pleased. I absolutely love the cross necklaces and how the models wore them. They reminded me of some cross necklaces I used to have when I was a teenager in all my rebel[ish] angst. That goth/religious feel that's directly connected to the gypsy lifestyle is there. I don't know if that's why they appeal to me or because simply they can make any look seem instantly bad-ass. Probably more the latter. The makeup was perfect. The dark eyes made the girls seem mysterious. Also, it was like that "all-day" makeup at the end of a long day. Same with the hair: free, laid back and fun. I guess this collection really called out to me for various reasons, some already stated above. Another reason why I was so excited for this collection? It reminded me the way my mother used to dress in her teenage and early college years. At least with what I've seen in pictures.

All that being said, here are some of my favorite looks from the collection. Check them out and comment below on your opinions about this s/s 2012 Pucci!